The University of Tennessee and Le Bonheur Children's Hospital have a long and successful history of organizing and sponsoring conferences that integrate the basic and clinical sciences into improving patient care. This is in large part because of the Pediatric Nephrologist Russell W. Chesney. Russell, who was the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics for 23 years, was a brilliant researcher and a master Clinician with an encyclopedic medical knowledge. He was a uniquely successful and humble man who lead by example. Dr. Chesney was Vice Chair to the Future of Pediatric Education II Task Force (FOPE II) and also served on the American Board of Pediatrics Residency Review and Redesign Project (R3P) Committee. He also served as President of the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the American Board of Pediatrics, the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, and the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs. Dr. Chesney was awarded several of the highest awards conferred by the profession of pediatrics including the 1985 Mead Johnson Award, the 2001 Joseph W. St. Geme Jr. Award, and the 2011 John Howland Award. Dr. Chesney was well known as a consummate academician, and was one of the most supportive clinician-scientists in Pediatric Nephrology. He had a completely non-self- serving agenda when it came to trainees and junior faculty. The proposed Pediatric Nephrology Tribute to Russell Chesney, M.D. in his honor will bring together a wide spectrum of Pediatric Nephrology Researchers that do not normally interact and function as a catalyst to bring together young investigators, fostering collaboration and career development. The theme will be centered on basic, translational, and clinical research with an emphasis on research training and career development. This meeting will serve as an example for the dissemination of health information to improve the lives of patients, their families, and those at risk for diseases of the kidney and urinary tract.